The member states and groups of member states that submitted their views on the elements of the Plastics Treaty have in a large majority (about 74% of the submissions) expressed that the Plastics Treaty should protect human health, and over half of submissions (64%) call for some form of control measure on chemicals in plastics.
Technical review calls for protecting health and the environment from toxic chemical exposures throughout the plastic life cycle
Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Geneva - A report released this week from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions notes that chemicals released throughout the life cycle of plastics pose serious health and environmental threats and should be the focus of global regulations.
As BRS COPs launch a “PCB Fair,” a new study shows that free-range eggs and recycled plastic products from Kenya contain high levels of dioxin-like PCBs and other toxic chemicals, exceeding EU standards
This study from the Kenyan public interest group Centre for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD), IPEN, and Arnika shows that extremely high levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including dioxin-like PCBs, likely produced from burning and disposal of plastic and electronic wastes, are contaminating the food supply in Kenya. Alarmingly, today’s study found the highest level of contamination by dioxin-like PCBs ever measured in free-range chicken eggs globally.
This report from Ecological Alert and Recovery - Thailand (EARTH), Arnika, and IPEN shows that recycling workers in Thailand have high levels of the toxic plastic chemical Dechlorane Plus in their bodies and in their food and surroundings.
Plastic waste, Refuse derived fuels (RDF), and cement kilns.
Excerpts from the Executive Summary
March, 2023
This document describes findings of an ongoing investigation to understand the scale and scope of the use of plastic waste as fuel in industrial processes in Mexico, the so-called refuse-derived fuel (RDF).
Plastics are a mixture of fossil fuels and chemicals, and many chemicals in plastics are known to cause serious health problems. Exports of plastic wastes have been identified as a significant global health and environmental threat, but current reporting systems underestimate the volumes of plastic wastes that are traded globally.
8 December 2022, JAKARTA - Indonesian NGO Nexus3 and Czech environmental NGO Arnika are calling for a global treaty on plastics pollution, an international legally binding instrument to address the use and release of hazardous chemicals in Indonesia and around the world. Their joint call follows a new study revealing the presence of toxic substances in ash, soil, and egg samples from Karawang village in West Java. The NGOs decided to focus on the village of Karawang because plastic waste and old tyres are burned as fuel in lime production, which harms the environment and human health.
The Plastics Treaty’s first Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1) met in Punta del Este, Uruguay from November 28 through December 2, 2022. IPEN ensured that voices from all regions in the global south were present in the meeting by supporting in-person participation by nearly 30 public interest participating organizations, and coordinated over 45 IPEN NGO members, working collaboratively to advance our views and promote the adoption of a Treaty that accounts for the threats to human health and the environment from chemicals in plastics.
